Ranko Forever
by Rekkashinenforever
Summary: While traveling to a training grounds, Ranma suffers amnesia as a girl. The only thing holding onto his past is a note. . .to Ranko! Ranko must now find out who she really is, while trying to live as a normal girl. (CHAPTER 4 FIXED)
1. Missing: Ranma and Genma

*Disclaimer* I do not own any of the Ranma 1/2 characters, to my sorrow.  
  
A/N: *This* means italics and this means thought.  
  
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"Ranma, pack quickly. We're going on a trip."  
  
"Huh? Nnnrggh?"  
  
Genma heaved a sigh at his son's lack of understanding. He grabbed a handy bucket of cold water and unceremoniously dumped it all over the half-awake Ranma, who came fully awake with a start and a girlish yelp.  
  
"Aw man, Pops! Why did you have to do that?!" she snapped, shaking water out of her wet hair and clothes. "All right, I'm awake, I'm awake."  
  
Genma stood with his arms crossed, looking remarkably alive for someone who had gotten up voluntarily at 4 am. "I said, pack. We're going on a training trip."  
  
Ranma grabbed the clock and squinted at it. "Old man, it's four in the morning. Can't it wait? And do you remember what happened the *last* time we went on a training trip?" She indicated her chest meaningfully.  
  
If it was meant to make Genma rethink his decision, the gesture was wasted. "But this time I have found a good place *in Japan*! This will make you even stronger than you are now. Believe me. I have a guidebook that talks all about it." He threw the book in front of Ranma.  
  
She picked it up and flipped open to the dog-eared page. " 'Japan's best training grounds! It has been used for years by expert martial artists. If you think you can brave it, come along. Even if you have an illness --' What is this crap?" she yelled, and threw the book back into Genma's face. "It wounds like any other place we've been to, only worse!"  
  
"Finish that sentence," Genma commanded, flinging the book back at Ranma.  
  
Ranma grumbled, but read aloud, " 'Even if you have an illness, we have a magical hot spring guaranteed to cure anything! From colds to coughs to chicken pox to. . .to magical spring curses. . ."  
  
Genma beamed. "See?"  
  
"All right! Let's go!"  
  
The little black piglet who had been crouched in the shadows bared its teeth. So, Ranma is going to train again? And get himself cured? How dare he! I shall come along, too, it thought. But first, I will write a good-bye note to my beloved Akane, so she knows where I have gone.  
"Uhhh, good morning P-Chan. . .P-Chan! Where are you?"  
  
Akane leaped out of bed and completely missed the note from Ryoga. In fact, it got stuck to her foot and she threw it in the wastebasket. Dressing quickly in her morning jogging outfit, she hurried downstairs tos ay a rushed, "See ya!" to Kasumi.  
  
Nabiki was there too, but still in her pajamas. She grimaced to see Akane so awake in the morning. "Hi. You gonna look for Ranma?"  
  
"What?"  
  
Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Didn't you notice? He's gone. So is Mr. Saotome. And we don't know where they are."  
  
"I hope they'll be all right," murmured Kasumi.  
  
"They'll probably go run out on a restaurant again," Nabiki commented in a disapproving tone. "And then come running back here again, with whoever's mad at them hot on their heels."  
  
Ranma's. . .gone? I wonder where he went, Akane thought. "I'm going jogging," she told her sisters. "See ya."  
  
She jogged out of the house and around the corner, looking for a black piglet or Ranma. But she saw no sign of either of them. "That's weird," she said aloud. "Usually he's up now. . .what am I getting so worked up for?" she added to herself, unaware that this was not a good sign of her mental health. "I mean, he's an arrogant, too-good, brawling jerk who doesn't know a subtle hint when it knocks him out cold. And he can be rather pathetic sometimes. He can take care of himself. Why should I worry? Why am I worrying?" She finally noticed that she had accidentally jogged in a straight line, and was now in an area she didn't usually visit. "I'm lost. And it's all his fault, too. RANMA, YOU JERK!" she yelled, kicking a nearby tree in her fustration.  
  
To her surprise, Ryoga fell out of it, wearing a pack. "A-Akane? What are you doing in the training grounds?"  
  
"Training grounds?" Akane repeated. "Ryoga, this is Tokyo."  
  
His face fell. "What? I'm not there? Dammit, I got lost again."  
  
"Hey, have you seen Ranma?" she asked. "We can't find him or Mr. Saotome anywhere."  
  
Ryoga stuttered. "D-didn't you ge-get a note?"  
  
She looked confused. "No, nothing. They just vanished."  
  
This is my lucky day! thought Ryoga excitedly, posing for a moment. Akane doesn't know where Ranma has gone. . .and he will be gone for a while. . .so I can make her mine! To Akane, he said in a serious voice, "No, I haven't. But isn't that just like him? To run out like that?"  
  
"Y-yeah," she said, some of her previous anger returning. "It is just like that jerk to take off without a word."  
  
"I wonder how long he'll be gone," Ryoga mused aloud. "In that case, Akane, will you. . .will you. . ."  
  
She looked closely at him. "Will I what?"  
  
"Will you. . .will. . .will. . .Will you eat these pork buns?" he cried, whipping out a box of them. "Please, you must be hungry after that morning run."  
  
"Oh, thank you, Ryoga! You are so kind!" she told him, smiling. "And so thoughtful." She took a pork bun and jogged away, eating it.  
  
I couldn't do it. . .  
  
Two days passed, and there was still no sign of Ranma or Genma. After a while, Kasumi decided to tidy up their room. There was practically nothing to clean up, but it made her feel useful. While sweeping forlornly in the corners, her broom hit something small and hard. Intrigued, she bent down and picked it up. It was a book.  
  
"The Martial Artist's Guidebook," she read aloud, softly. A couple of bent pages caught her eye. Flipping it open, she came upon a map with training ground locations on it. The other bent page was highlighted and marked. Kasumi went back to the map and found the marked place - The Golden Crane Recuperation Grounds. "Nabiki! Akane! Father!" she called. "I think I know where they've gone!"  
  
Pounding feet heralded the trio's arrival. Nabiki's eyes lit up when she saw the book. "Yes! Good going, Kasumi. We should have realized they went on another training mission." She snatched the book out of her sister's hands and read it. "Did they really believe this bull?" she wondered. "Give me five minutes." She hurried off.  
  
"Hello!" called a feminine voice from the front door.  
  
"I'll get it," said Akane over her shoulder, hurrying over. "Oh, Mrs. Saotome! You, um, just missed Ranko. And Ranma and your husband." Well, not really, she thought.  
  
Nodoka followed Akane back to Kasumi and Soun. "That's too bad," she fretted. "I brought both Akane and Ranko a present. Do you know when she'll be back?"  
  
Akane's reply was interrupted by the return of Nabiki. "I got it!" she cried jubilantly. "I know where Ran - " she noticed Nodoka and hastily corrected herself " -Ranko is. She should be about here now." Everyone crowded around to look at what her finger marked. It was a town called Chance.  
  
"I must send her a letter," said Nodoka. "She got out pen and paper and started writing.  
  
Nabiki thought for a moment. "Tomorrow, they should be. . .here." She pointed to a star-marked place. "The Youkai Caves. Sounds ominous."  
  
"I'm sure they can take care of themselves," said Soun.  
  
"Finished!" said Nodoka merrily. She handed Soun the letter. "Could you please mail this out for me?"  
  
Soun nodded. "We will mail it to the only inn at the Youkai Caves."  
  
"Don't they usually camp out?" asked Akane.  
  
Nabiki silently flipped open to a page and pointed. Akane leaned over and went, "Oh. It has an all-you-can-eat buffet for only 100 yen."  
  
"Do you mind if I stay for a while?" asked Nodoka anxiously.  
  
"Of course not," Soun replied gallantly. "Stay, um, as long as you wish."  
  
Many, many miles away. . .  
  
"Letter delivery to Miss Ranko Tendo!" announced the owner of the inn. There was some murmurs, all wanting to see who claimed it.  
  
Ranma stood and walked to the man. "I know her. I'll. . .give it to her," he lied, and took it. Whereupon her returned to the table where Genma waited and started to read it.  
  
" 'Dear Ranko (the letter read), I am so sorry we just missed each other. I just visited the Tendo household and your cousin Akane told me you had left. I hope you remember to behave in a ladylike way wherever you are (here Ranma grimaced). I have left you a present at the Tendo's, and when you get back you can claim it. Love, Nodoka.' "  
  
He looked up in response to his father's questioning poke. "It's from Mom," he told him, feeling the familiar gut pang whenever he talked about his mother. "She's given Ranko a present, and it's waiting at the Tendo's."  
  
"When we get back," said Genma. "This trip will make a true man out of you, my son!"  
  
"That's what you tried to do last time, only it didn't work," Ranma informed him. "And what are you looking at?"  
  
Genma peered at his son over the top of the pamphlet. "It's a brochure on places to visit here," he said. "They mention a training ground."  
  
Ranma groaned. "Oh man, not again! The whole point of this trip is to *get* to a training ground, so we don't need to visit all the others on the way in!"  
  
"Yes, we need to see this one! This has been used for thousands of years, daily, but masters. We should at least see it."  
  
"All right," Ranma sighed, feeling the need to give in. He stuffed the letter into a pocket and got up. "Should we go see this 'famous training ground,' then?"  
  
The training ground turned out to be an ordinary-looking, hilly piece of land. Studded here and there were dark blobs. There were monks everywhere, chanting softly, burning incense, and generally making a lot of people uncomfortable.  
  
"Is *this* the place?" asked Ranma, his mouth hanging open in disbelief.  
  
"Yes," said Genma. "Those blobs are caves where, supposedly, demons roam. The caves further back have weaker demons, and the ones closest to the hospital --" indicated with a hand wave - "are the harder ones. Now, my son, do you need to go to the easy ones first, or will you take the harder ones?"  
  
"Did you have to ask?" Ranma shot back. "The harder ones, of course. Piece of cake!"  
  
They both took off for the cave closest to them, oblivious to the frantic cries of the monks. Ranma and Genma ran into the cave. There was silence, and then screams.  
A tousle-headed girl lay facedown in a sparse, desert-like area. She opened a swollen eye, the winced with pain and shut it, then opened the other one. When that didn't hurt, she cautiously sat up to get her bearings.  
  
She was lying a few yards away from a dark cave. Her head throbbed. She raised on hand to her forehead and was not surprised when it came away bloody.  
  
"Where am I?" she asked. Her voice was a hoarse croak. She didn't recognize anything she saw. Nor did the clothes she wore - a Chinese shirt and pants - dredge up anything in her memory.  
  
"Who am I?" Her voice cracked; she didn't know.  
  
Something crinkled as she lay down again. Fishing in her pants, she drew out a slightly bloody piece of paper. The writing was legible, but hard to read with one eye. Especially when the world kept tilting.  
  
She peered at the small, neat characters, and managed to make out, "Ranko, I am so sorry. . ." Nothing made sense, but it made her feel like she had something more than just the clothes on her back.  
  
"This is my letter," she whispered, sliding back down into unconsciousness. "Then. . .I guess my name is Ranko."  
  
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A/N: Please tell me what you thought of it! I would very much appreciate your comments. 


	2. Genma Returns

A/N: This means thought and *this* means italics. Sorry for the long un- update!! I got really busy. I hope you enjoy this chapter, though. Thank you for all the morale-boosting reviews!!!!  
  
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The girl woke at evening. She raised herself up, wincing as her various bruises and cuts woke as well. She gazed around, searching for familiar landmarks, but saw none.  
  
"Oh, yeah," she giggled weakly, "I'm lost." She was unwilling to admit - yet - that she had amnesia.  
  
Ranko trudged along, noting the black blobs indicating cave mouths. Somehow, she was reluctant to venture into one. She threaded her way around a couple of caves, smelling the sweet scents of incense and looking at the numerous scrolls. "To keep demons in," she said aloud. "What kind of place is this?" The night had no answers.  
  
There was an inn nearby, but Ranko decided not to go in, as it could be dangerous for a girl alone. Instead, she continued her meandering way, past a hospital, past several small houses, until she came to another small house that just, well, seemed right. She knocked upon the door and waited for someone to open it.  
  
"Hello?" said a deep voice, and a middle-aged, yet extremely fit, man opened it. He looked straight ahead, seemed puzzled that no one was there, then finally glanced down. "A girl," he rumbled, as though he did not quite approve.  
  
Ranko made herself look small and pathetic, though her body voiced its protest with pain. "Please, sir, I just want a place to stay for the night," she said. "I'm sorry, I have no money to pay you with."  
  
The man looked her over. "I see you must have been to the training grounds," he told her, eyeing her wounds.  
  
She looked at her dried-blood-encrusted arm. "Did I?" Seeing his bewildered look, she hastily amended, "Oh, yeah, that's right, I did."  
  
"Which cave?" It looked like he was a hard customer.  
  
"Um, let me think. . ." she said, probing her jagged memory for anything. The cave she had woken up by threw itself in front of her mind's eye. Then she had walked past an inn and a hospital to get here. . . "I think - I mean, it was the very first one."  
  
The man's monobrow disappeared into his hair. "The very first one? Where the most fearful demon resides? What is a girl alone thinking of?" He took her arm and drew her inside, where a plump wife was setting the table for three. "You can stay with us until you're rested."  
  
Ranko swallowed, but said, "Um. All right." After all, I have nowhere else to go.  
  
"You can think on it," he said benevolently. "Right now, have some food."  
The first week with Ranma missing passed with only minor complaints from those he saw most around Nerima. The teachers accepted the reason that he was training, but some, well, needed more explanations.  
  
"Akane Tendo! What have you done with my Ranma?"  
  
"I haven't done *anything* to him, Kodachi!" Akane yelled back, for what felt like the tenth time. "He's gone on a training trip with his father!"  
  
Kodachi stood with her arms crossed, an angry smirk on her face. "Of course he didn't. You pushed him into hiding from me. . .me! Kodachi, the Black Rose! Ranmaaaaaaaaa darling!" she called, leaping over the buildings.  
  
That wasn't the least of Akane's troubles. Ryoga would come up to her about once a day, and moan about not getting to some training grounds. Akane tried to be sympathetic, but knowing about Ryoga's nonexistent sense of direction, she couldn't really be as nice as she felt he deserved. And since he wouldn't tell her what ground he wanted to get to, she couldn't help.  
  
"Akane Tendo! I shall console you in my arms!"  
  
"Get away from me, Kuno," she snapped, booting him over a nearby roof.  
  
He returned with remarkable speed. "My darling Akane, let me do anything you wish."  
  
She sighed. "Then leave." She found that she sort of missed Ranma, since he had a certain nonchalant way of beating Kuno up that made the annoying kendo player *stay* away. She walked back home with Kuno's shouts ringing in her ears.  
  
"I will do anything you want!!"  
  
The second week passed with even more trouble. Kodachi simply wouldn't take "no" for an answer, and refused to listen to Akane, convinced that the Tendo girl had killed her beloved and stuffed his body in a closet somewhere. Kuno became even more irritating than usual, persistent because there was only Akane to beat him up, and she wasn't as forceful as Ranma. Shampoo started to hang out at the Dojo, waiting for her fiancé to return, and Mousse followed her. Ukyo started to sink into a kind of depression and began to miss school. Ryoga vanished, having probably found the training grounds. Meanwhile, the Tendo family started to get worried as well. From Nabiki's calculations, they should have arrived at the Golden Crane near the end of the first week. Even Akane, who was known to find Ranma a jerk, started to miss him after half a month.  
  
"She's been gone for nearly two weeks now," said Nodoka in the kitchen one day. "I do hope she's all right, wherever she is now. She was such a dear at cooking."  
  
"Um, yes," said Akane, trying a happy smile. "Ranko is probably, um. . ."  
  
Nodoka looked at her. "Akane, that's not flour, that's baking soda. And what is Ranko-chan doing?"  
  
"Eeek!" yelped Akane. She hastily righted the half-tipped can of soda, but some had poured out. What sort of girl am I? I can't even bake a cake correctly! To Nodoka, she said, "She's probably shopping for, you know, clothes."  
  
Nodoka smiled and took away the zucchini Akane was about to slice into the cake. "Eggs, Akane, eggs," she told the girl. "That's so good! Ranko- chan needed some nice girl clothes. Like a dress."  
  
Akane smiled again, this time to hide the smirk of laughter. "And now for the coca powder," she said aloud, tipping the measuring cup over.  
  
"No!" cried Nodoka, coming to the rescue once more. "The tablespoon, Akane, not the one cup. I wonder when she'll return. I didn't know she liked shopping that much! I can't wait to see her clothes."  
  
What did I start? Akane wondered.  
  
The panda wandered along, feeling rather lost. He didn't know where his son was. He remembered racing into the cave as a human, then encountering a sort of inky blackness with red eyes and a powerful aura. The next thing he knew, the inside of his body was on fire, the kind of fire that only terrible cold can create. It was ripping out his insides, forcing his body to shrink into itself from the blackness. He recalled changing into a panda, somehow, and the fur protected his flesh slightly more than the gi. Then he was thrown violently out of the cave, far away, and landed into. . .  
  
He glanced around. A boy with long hair was chasing a girl with very long purple hair on a bike.  
  
He didn't know where he was.  
  
He didn't even know who he was.  
The girl stopped her bike and calmly booted her stalker into the sky. "Is Ranma here?" she asked excitedly. "He is back?"  
  
The panda looked at her, but couldn't remember anything about her.  
  
She looked at something to his right, but close to his body. "Who. . .Ranma?" she asked, obviously reading something. Then she grew angry. "What you mean, 'Who Ranma'?" she shouted. "Ranma you son! Ranma Shampoo groom!"  
  
Shampoo. Suddenly memories burst from behind a dam in his mind. He could feel his paws writing dozens of signs, and he heard Shampoo cry, "No, stop! Change to man!" Then a kettle fell over him and he rose, human.  
  
"Tendo, thank you!" cried Genma. "Am I back in Nerima? How did I get here?"  
  
"What we want to know is what you were doing away from Nerima," said Soun. He was dressed in his battle gear, umistakably waiting a serious answer.  
  
Genma shuddered. "I took Ranma on a training trip," he said. "I thought I might find us a cure, but. . ."  
  
"Did it ever occur to you to leave us a note?" Soun asked dangerously, tipping his naginata into a ready position.  
  
Genma cowered. "Well, yes, but it slipped my mind! Seriously!"  
  
Soun's weapon didn't waver. "And where is my daughter's fiancé, anyway? Didn't you bring him back?"  
  
Genma tried to remember, but couldn't recall exactly what had happened to Ranma. "I have to talk to you about that," he said. Soun led him back to the dojo at naginata-point.  
  
Fortunately for Genma, his wife had left a couple of days ago, saying that she had to return to her house. Nabiki nearly dropped her teacup when she saw him walk into the house looking like a criminal her father had found. Kasumi immediately began to make more tea. Akane's jaw fell and she had to work hard to get it back into its usual position. Shampoo walked in after Soun, looking upset.  
  
"Didn't you know that the Golden Crane stuff was probably bull?" Nabiki wanted to know. "Honestly, I can't believe why you would fall for that." Studying him critically, she amended, "Actually, for you I can. So where's Ranma?"  
  
"Yes," said Shampoo, ominously cracking her knuckles, "where Shampoo groom? Why he not here with you?"  
  
Genma stood, looking slightly ashamed. After a few minutes, he coughed and said, "I am afraid to admit that I have lost my son."  
  
There was an immediate outbreak of noise. Soun's face became very dark and the room was filled with his angry aura. Shampoo started shouting, "What you mean LOSE Ranma? How you LOSE Ranma?!" Nabiki yelled, "What a horrible father you are, losing your only son!" Soun gave a loud growl of , "Gennnnnnnnmaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!" accompanied by fire from his nose. Akane cried out, "How could you lose him? Where were you two?"  
  
"Please," said Genma weakly, "please. Calm down."  
  
Miraculously, everyone became silent, thought the weight of all the angry auras, including Kasumi's, was evident. A couple of cups broke, and the table shifted.  
  
Genma put a hand to his forehead and took several deep breaths. "All right. I'll tell you. Ranma and I had only gotten to the Youkai Caves. I decided to take him into one as another test. We went in and. . ." he shuddered. "All I remember is a terrible cold. I turned into a panda, and was spit out of the cave. I didn't know where I was; I didn't even know *who* I was. I think the cold did that to me. I walked wherever my feet took me, and ended up here." He heaved a gigantic sigh. "I don't know what happened to Ranma after we ran in. I can only assume he ended up like me, with amnesia."  
  
There was a pause as everyone thought about this.  
  
"Ranma with amnesia," whispered Akane.  
  
"Watch out, world," muttered Nabiki.  
  
With a surprising burst of temper, Shampoo threw a cup at the middle Tendo sister. "You be quiet!" she snapped. "Stupid girl. No care about Ranma? Then stay out of this." She walked out, saying over her shoulder, "Shampoo go find groom."  
  
"Wait!" called Nabiki. Shampoo turned, a disgusted look on her face. Nabiki looked troubled. "All right. That was uncalled for, and I'm sorry. But before you go looking for Ranma. . .a few words of advice."  
  
"Yes?" said Shampoo, poison in her voice. Akane jerked back, surprised at this very un-Shampoo-like behavior.  
  
"Number one: Ranma won't know who he is. Number two: Ranma won't know who you are. Number three: You don't know where he is. And number four. . .Well, this is only a guess, but he might be in his girl form. And if he is, do you think he'll believe you when you say she's really a boy?"  
  
Shampoo, Akane, Genma, and Soun stared at her in horror. Kasumi was making tea and replacing cups. "I didn't think of that," said Akane in a whisper. "That's horrible! We *have* to go look for him now!"  
  
"Start around the Youkai Caves," advised Nabiki. "Maybe you'll find someone who saw him. . .or her."  
  
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Rekkas' Chat Section: Aaaah, that was a long chapter. And for the question, "How did Nodoka know where to send the letter?", I have revised Ch.1 and added that bit in. So Ch.1 is now long, too. Ai-ya ya. And usal- lover888 had a very good idea about Ranko and Ryoga getting together for the romance bit. I was gonna make up a random guy, but this is better. Or I could've done Kuno. What do you all think? Please tell me, Kuno or Ryoga. The question is, How badly do you want to torture Ranma? Lol. Next chapter is the Hot Water Disaster! Looking forward to it!  
  
End of Rekkas' Chat Section for this chapter. -.^ 


	3. The Hot Water Disaster!

A/N: This means though and *this* means italics. Heh heh, today is the chapter you've all been waiting for (maybe): The Hot Water Disaster! And, thanks to the overwhelming victory, Ranko and Ryoga will be paired later on in the story.  
  
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Now we must skip backwards about a week and a half, back to the tiny village next to the Youkai Caves. Bring yourself back to the man and his wife, and Ranko staying with them. Now picture Ranko having a good time, enjoying herself and generally getting along, winning with her martial arts skills.  
  
Wrong. Ranko was having a difficult - to say the least - time.  
  
She couldn't remember why she was at this place, the Youkai Caves, or so they were called. She didn't remember coming here with anyone else. . .no surprise, since she didn't remember the grounds in the first place. She was unable to answer the kind yet nosy questions posed by the man and his wife. Somehow she got the impression that the answer, "I'm sorry, I have amnesia" was not going to work with them. The man wanted straight, sure replies, and his wife bustled around, yet was always eavesdropping.  
  
Ranko shifted uncomfortably on the floor, trying to eat her miso soup. The man started to talk over her head, as though he thought she was deaf.  
  
"What I don't understand, my dear," he said to his wife, "is what a young girl alone would be doing at the training grounds by herself. Or maybe not by herself. And from the look of it, she went into a cave."  
  
Ranko tried to pretend to be deaf, for her sake.  
  
"She claims it was the first cave," continued the man with an air of superiority. Ranko supposed he had a reason to, since he lived here after all. "No one has ever come out of there alive. If she has been there, truly, maybe we could know what lurks there."  
  
The girl tried to listen to this part. Maybe she could find out what had happened to her - if anything *had* happened.  
  
"She doesn't seem to want to talk about it," said the wife. She took the last bowl of soup from Ranko, who didn't protest. "I suppose she must have had a reason to be here. Maybe she went to train."  
  
The man quirked an eyebrow at Ranko, who attempted not to shrink back into herself. "Were you training?'  
  
"Uh, yeah, I think," she replied, trying to sound like she really knew what she was talking about. "Yes, I was. Yes."  
  
He stood and stretched. "Then I don't suppose you'll object to a match in the morning? Only the best martial artists go into that first cave. I would offer you the bath, but. . ." He glanced at the clock. "It is a little late. Would you like it?"  
  
"No, thank you," said Ranko. "I'll wait until tomorrow. I think."  
  
The wife appeared, carrying a slightly faded and patched yukata. "Here, child," she said. "You may borrow this for the night. I'll wash those dirty Chinese clothes."  
  
"Wait!" said Ranko. She reached into her pocket and drew out the crumpled letter. "I want to keep this."  
  
The wife looked pleasantly puzzled, but, "It's yours, dear," was all she said.  
  
Ranko woke the next morning, forgetting where she was again. For a terrible five minutes, she even forgot who she was. Then she drew the letter from inside her yukata, and read it. "Ranko," she whispered, clinging to the name like a drowning man clinging to a life raft, "My name is Ranko." She sat up and suddenly remembered the match.  
  
Crap! I don't know how to fight. . .I'm only a girl. . .What will they do when they learn about me? she wondered, trembling slightly. It'll pose more questions. . .ones I don't think I'll be able to bull my way through.  
  
"Child, are you awake?" asked the wife in a slightly patronizing voice. "Ah, yes you are. I've found a gi in your size, Ranko-chan." She came in and put the pale white outfit on Ranko's legs. "My husband's waiting for you outside in the yard when you're ready." She left as quickly as she had come, twittering like a bird.  
  
Ranko held up the gi. Her hands shook a bit, and she took a deep breath to calm herself. "How do you put this on?" she asked herself, but managed to do it anyway. In fact, her hands seemed to know what do instinctively. Her brain protested, wondering how she knew this so well, but her hands tied the sash quickly and efficiently. Flipping her pigtail over her shoulder, she knew in her heart that she had done this before. But when, and where?  
  
The man was waiting in the yard. Ranko shuddered a bit to see muscled limbs, corded and almost as big as Ranko's thighs. The man was facing a wooden practice dummy. He stood, concentrating. Then he let out a shout of, "HA!" and fired a punch at it. Ranko was amazed that she could see his huge arm moving as if in slow motion. The fist hit the dummy, and it rocked backwards but stayed rooted in the earth. He swore slightly and wiped sweat from his brow, then caught sight of her.  
  
He gave her a wry smile. "Confident, aren't we? Not even warming up, are we?"  
  
Ranko could tell he didn't like her much. "Um, no."  
  
He gave a snort of laughter. "Don't get too confident, little girl. First, I want to see you throw a punch at that dummy." His nod indicated what he had just hit. "If you can do better than me, I'll consider trying you out." His tone suggested that he thought she couldn't.  
  
Ranko didn't have much confidence in herself, either, but the sound of his voice, slightly superior and condescending, the sound of one who thinks he is a master, got on her nerves. "Really? Well, just watch me pound you into the ground." Amazed, she could read her feelings: He's not much. Big and muscular, but he's not much. And he has no real force except for his muscles behind his punches. Real easy. Shaking her head slightly, she went and moved into a fighting stance in front of the dummy.  
  
The man's jaw nearly dropped as he felt the girl's aura rise. He watched her walk over to the dummy, moving with the stride of a fighter. He could nearly see the glow of Ranko's aura as she positioned herself with easy grace, and stared straight at the dummy. He could *feel* her concentration, her determination. Well, I never! he thought. She might have something in her after all.  
  
She crouched, feeling her slow anger grow hotter as she thought of the man's lightly sarcastic comments, flavored with the fact that he thought she was a weakling who couldn't hurt a fly. I'll. . .show. . .him! she thought, punctuating each word in her mind with a flare of her aura. Practically glowing, she stared straight at the practice dummy, then drew back her right fist and let it fly with a force that rivaled a speeding semi.  
  
"HA!"  
  
The man's jaw did drop this time as the wooden dummy, the ground it was on, part of the fence, and a good deal of land on the other side flew into the air. There was a huge explosion as Ranko released her pent-up frustration in one powerful right hook. The wife came out and fainted when she saw the damage to her property. There was a loud commotion as several neighbors arrived to see what was the problem. Fingers pointed and tongues wagged - was it really that girl?  
  
The aura faded, and so did Ranko's anger. Looking in astonishment at her hands, which still seethed with internal fires, she gazed then at the destruction, and back at her palms. They were sweating. Nervously she wiped them clean on her gi, then turned with dread and faced the man and his wife. Or rather, the man only, since his wife was flat on the ground.  
  
His eyebrow rose. With a visible effort not to give in to his amazement, he said calmly, "I see you have a lot of potential. I have a brother who lives close to Tokyo. He runs a dojo and trains young martial artists. I think you would fit in nicely there."  
  
Ranko looked at him, fear in her eyes. Fear of what she was, fear of him, and fear of this unknown place she was being sent to. His look softened slightly as he read those fears. "He has two daughters about your age." This was only a guess, since he didn't know Ranko's age. Neither did she. "Don't worry, I'm sure you can get more out of his dojo than you could here."  
  
The girl nodded slightly, then went back into the house for a nice hot shower.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"This is going awfully slow."  
  
Akane sighed and tried to ignore Nabiki's complaints. She leaned back against the cart's side and closed her eyes. This was their first day of travel outside Tokyo, on the road Genma and Ranma had taken. Nabiki held the guidebook in front of her, and occasionally marked their progress. She was unhappy with the results. Genma sat, remarkably silent, in the front with the driver. His memory of the road wasn't too complete, but he was able to recognize various landmarks. Soun and Kasumi had been left at home. Shampoo and Ukyo were discussing what they would do with Ranma when they found him, and Mousse was sitting in duck form next to Shampoo. She has splashed him when he started to get a little too clingy. Personally, Akane was surprised that Shampoo and Ukyo were agreeing on most of their ideas, but she knew the peace would not last long. Luckily, Kuno and Kodachi had been easily taken care of. Knocked out with some of Kodachi's own potions (thanks to Shampoo) and tied up, they had been left in the basement of their house.  
  
"How long did it take you guys to get there?" Nabiki asked Genma in exasperation.  
  
Genma thought for a bit, then answered, "I think. . .three or four days, maybe."  
  
Nabiki threw up her hands but nearly lost the guidebook. "Damn! Ranma's been out for almost two weeks. Who knows what he'll think by then."  
  
Akane shifted position and focused on the passing scenery. I hope he's all right, she thought to herself. The trees started to get blurry as she became drowsy. I'm. . .I'm worried for him. . . She would, of course, never tell anyone else how worried she was for Ranma. She'd never hear the end of it, since she had always acted like she didn't care about him. Her head bobbed, and she sank into sleep.  
  
Shampoo glanced over and heard Akane snoring softly. "What Ukyo think we do to Ranma?" she asked Ukyo. She couldn't believe it, really. Here she was, talking to one of her enemies about the issue they fought over. But, she reminded herself, this was for Ranma. She was putting up with Ukyo's comments for Ranma's sake.  
  
The spatula-wielding okonomiyaki chef lowered her eyelids. I don't believe it! Talking with this cat girl, who changes into the one thing my Ran-chan hates. . .Of course, this is for him. This is for his sake. Maybe if she kept telling herself that, she would start to believe it. In response, she said, "I was thinking of dumping hot water onto him. Maybe that would wake him up, like it did for Genma."  
  
The Chinese girl was doubtful. "And if it no work? Then what?"  
  
Ukyo growled under her breath. "I don't know. What do you think?"  
  
Shampoo smirked slightly. She had the upper hand here, with a Plan B. "Shampoo think of attack Ranma with memories. Show him friends, bring to dojo. *Something* wake in Ranma, then he remember!"  
  
Ucchan dug her fingernails into the wood, admonishing herself to not get frustrated over the cat-girl's tone. "And if that doesn't work? Do you have a Plan C?"  
  
"Of course no!" said Shampoo scornfully. "That Ukyo plan!"  
  
Their arguments continued. Gradually Genma fell asleep, and the two girls as well.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Whoo! That's cold!"  
  
Ranko shook her head and hair out, spraying small drops of water in the bathroom. She soaped herself and washed her hair, cleaning it of the sweat and dirt that had accumulated since she had woken up at the caves. She was disgusted at how dirty she was, at how filthy the water washing her off looked. Finally convinced that she was clean, she looked at the bath of hot water, but decided not to step in yet. Instead, she contemplated what had happened so far in her life.  
  
"I have amnesia," Ranko listed, reluctantly. "I've ended up with these two people who don't really like me. I've discovered that I have really good martial arts skills. I blew a hole in the man's yard, and now I'm being sent to his brother for training." She snorted. "I hope I recover my memories soon. Who the hell *am* I?!"  
  
The letter lay in her room, in the pocket of her Chinese pants, half- forgotten. The only link to her past.  
  
Ranko shivered. "Guess I should get in, then," she said with a slight sigh, looking at the inviting hot bath. Rising, she made her way over, gazed at the clear pool - thinking of how dirty it would look afterward - and got in.  
  
"EEEEEEEYAAAAAAAHH!!!"  
  
The scream resounded through the house, out the open door, and was heard by the small group of people in the couple's yard. It was a yell of pure horror. The man glanced up, wondering what had caused the sound. The group he was talking too shifted uncomfortably.  
  
"I didn't know you had a boy in the house," one person remarked.  
  
The man looked perturbed. "I don't," he replied, and went to investigate.  
  
Fingers less elegant, legs less smooth and round! Body less curvy - no, not curvy at all! Ranko stared in helpless dismay, looking at her chest. 'Her' chest no longer. It was flat, a boy's chest. Cautiously he touched it. It felt real. Nerving himself for the worst, he dared to look between his legs. Yes, she had turned into a boy; her whole body had changed and mutated to look like this. He sat in numb shock.  
  
"Who the HELL am I?" he gasped. His voice was rough and male. This was just another mystery to add to the already large list.  
  
Just then the door slammed open, and Ranko found himself staring into the eyes of the man who owned the house. They were dark with surprise.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Hyah!"  
  
Megumi threw a punch at her sister and then ducked. Hitomi took the blow with a tightened stomach, but felt it like a blow from her father. The two girls separated and studied each other, each searching for a weakness. Hitomi saw a large girl, not fat but large, with a buildup of muscle that her age contributed to. Megumi's hair was tangled around her face, sticking to sweat on her forehead that the sweatband hadn't caught. Megumi saw a short girl, barely five feet tall, petite for her sixteen years. Her build was slim, her muscles less developed. Shoulder-length blonde hair caught in her eyes, and she wiped it away. In that instant, Megumi struck.  
  
Hitomi fell with a yelp of surprise as her sister's foot connected with her left cheek, knocking her down. She rolled, trying to hit the ground with her whole body, but failed. The back of Hitomi's head connected with the wooden floor, and she reeled with the blow. When her eyes focused again, she found herself staring at her sister's fist.  
  
"Nice job," Megumi said casually, "but you have to learn to ignore the little things."  
  
Hitomi didn't take her sister's offered helping hand, and got up by herself with a growl. She hated it when Megumi acted so - so high-and-mighty. She just thinks she's better because she's older, she thought resentfully. Dad can still kick her ass.  
  
The seventeen-year-old girl retrieved her towel from the side and wiped her face. Hitomi took her towel sullenly and copied her sister. They were silent for a while, and then Megumi spoke again.  
  
"Isn't that girl supposed to come today?"  
  
Hitomi wished she dared ignore her sister, but felt the need to show off slightly. "Yes. Her name is Ranko, and she has amnesia," she replied slightly boastfully. "She's the one who knocked down Uncle's yard."  
  
Megumi took a sip of water. "She must be pretty good, then."  
  
The blonde didn't answer. She hoped this Ranko was good enough to beat her sister. Megumi could use a little beating. She was too confident, too sure of herself. She was smug and self-centered, and liked to criticize people in a way that didn't sound directly insulting. However, Hitomi was expert enough in that field to be able to tell. "Dad went to get her in his car," she said finally. "He left four days ago; he should probably be able to get back sometime today."  
  
"Dad drives too quickly," Megumi said scornfully. "Of course he will."  
  
"Dad drives like a maniac," Hitomi muttered.  
  
Within ten minutes, the girls had changed into yukatas and brushed out their hair. Megumi's tresses were long and chestnut-colored, and she put it up in a bun, turning this way and that to admire herself. Applying some makeup, she decided that she looked presentable and went out.  
  
"Girls!" called their mother, Sakura. "Your father has returned. I want you to greet our new guest politely." She knew, better than most, of the fighting her daughters had.  
  
Ranko got out of the car and walked towards the front door. She was shaking slightly from nerves. She felt as though she had been kicked out of the other house because of her weirdness. Luckily, the old man there hadn't told his brother about it. Now she knew she could *never* take a bath with the sisters. Never! How embarrassing it would be if her weird secret got out. This man here, Kouji, did not know of it, and she sure as hell wasn't going to tell him. Bracing herself, she opened the door, dressed in her cleaned Chinese outfit. Two sets of identical hazel eyes stared back at her. The girls looked so pretty in their yukatas. Nice, normal girls. Girls who didn't have amnesia or a strange curse.  
  
"Hi," she said, trying a smile. "My name's Ranko."  
  
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Rekkas' Random Ramblings (formerly known as the Chat Section: There you go. The end of the third chapter, finally. I'm sorry I haven't been able to update more frequently! School stuff, you know. I hope people will still like this story, even though I have now introduced a couple of made- ups. . .actually, a whole made-up family. Now, I hate Mary Sues as much as the next person, so if my two girls start to act Mary Sue-ish, please tell me!! But give them a chance for another chapter or two. I made them definitely NOT perfect, at least so far, and I hope they stay that way. And thanks to all the people who voted, Ryoga or Kuno as the romantic interest, Ryoga has won!! I think I'll be able to fit him into the story much better than Kuno. . .Anyway, expect him sometime in. . .say, two chapters. Maybe less, depending on the size of one chapter. This one, for example, was very very long. But anyway, this still holds: Please tell me of any questions you have about this story, or suggestions. All are looked at. And I got a lot of constructive criticism last chapter!! That makes me feel very good. That kind of review is the most helpful to me. And I think that's the end of the Random Ramblings for this chapter. 


	4. Sibling Rivalry

A/N: I'm truly sorry to those who witnessed my great HTML mess-up. I'm sorry, everyone!! I guess that I'll change my thought markings. Once again, I apologize for the inconvenience my mistake caused. *This* means italics and |this| indicates thoughts.  
  
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"Wow, you have no idea who you are?" asked Hitomi eagerly, leaning perilously close to the bowl of miso soup. "You just found yourself lying in the Youkai Caves training area with no memory of what happened? How *cool*!"  
  
Megumi turned sharply, causing her hair to fall from its bun and dip into her tea. Irritably flipping the offending bit over her shoulder, she spoke sharply to her younger sister. "Hitomi! Don't be rude!"  
  
The younger girl slid her eyes downwards, looking ashamed. "Sorry," she murmured.  
  
Kouji broke the uncomfortable silence with a slight laugh. "Don't worry, Ranko," he said to the red-haired girl. "You can settle in here for the time being. I'm sure we can find wherever you lived beforehand. And I can take you aside for a bit of training." His eyes gleamed with eagerness.  
  
"I don't think I need any training," Ranko spoke up suddenly. "I'm fine as I am, thanks."  
  
The others would have left it at that, but Hitomi's mouth, as the family often said, would go on past the end of the world. "You're dressed in Chinese clothes but you speak Japanese. Are you an exchange student from China? Do you even live around Tokyo?"  
  
Megumi rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Hitomi, do you ever shut up?" she demanded, rising. "I'll excuse myself, Mother, Father." Giving curt nods to everyone except her sister, the older girl left.  
  
"I'll show you to your room. . .Well, my room," said Hitomi, rising and gesturing for Ranko to follow her. "You're staying with me for now. I hope you don't mind. What do you think of my family?"  
  
Ranko didn't want to be rude, but she mentioned, "Your sister seems rather confident."  
  
Hitomi gave a bitter laugh. "Oh yes. Megumi can kick the best butt at our school, and she likes to brag about it. I don't say anything, because she can beat me up. I don't like her much. She's too serious." Hitomi opened a door to a room filled with every kind of girl dream. Posters of boys hung on the walls, some signed, others with smiley stickers on them. A desk, the only clean thing in the room, had neatly arranged bottles of makeup and a pretty, glittery penholder on it. A glass lamp decorated one corner of the desk. On one shelf, there were romance novels mixed in with the odd manga. Hitomi's clothes had all been squished into one corner to make room for the futon that lay next to the bed. Hitomi hastily closed her closet door before all its contents spilled out, then went and opened the window, letting in the fresh air. Ranko tried to find a spot on the bed, but it was too infested with models of Sailor Scouts and fluffy pens to be comfortable, so she sat on the futon.  
  
She looked at the open door. There was a sign on it she hadn't noticed at first. It said in block letters, "Hitomi's Room," but someone (the infamous Megumi, probably) had crossed out "Room" and written "Cave." The door had more glittery stickers. On a hanger on one wall, a sailor-type school uniform hung. The thought, |That will be mine,| flitted through Ranko's mind. Overall, the room seemed to her the epitome of girlishness. Quite a difference from Megumi's personality. The sheer shoujo-ness of it made Ranko's head spin for some reason. |I must be grateful,| she chanted mentally. |I must be grateful, must be grateful. . .|  
  
Ranko felt Hitomi's gaze on the back of her neck, and she turned around to meet the blonde in her hazel eyes. |She's cute,| Ranko thought, with a horrible jolt to her stomach. |Why am I thinking these things?!| But deep in the back of her memory, Ranko thought she remembered telling another girl, "You're cute when you smile." But who? This girl was cute even when she was standing with a puzzled frown, like Hitomi was now. |Ha to you,| Ranko told the half-remembered phantom girl in her mind.  
  
"What do you think?" asked Hitomi, indicating her room with a sweep of her arm. "I don't know what you're used to. Sorry for the mess."  
  
"I'm not sure what I'm used to either," replied Ranko, getting a small laugh out of Hitomi. "But I think this is perfectly fine." |Though you could cut down on the glitter,| she added mentally, accidentally stepping on a small tube of glittery gel.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
"I've got you enrolled in the school my girls go to," Kouji told Ranko later that day. "Your uniform's here already, and school is tomorrow. I think you should go," he added anxiously, not wanting to anger a teenage girl who could blow a hole in his brother's fence.  
  
"I think I should too," replied Ranko, staring mesmerized at the TV. She flipped absentmindedly through the channels. Anime, anime. . .news, weather, more news, more anime. . . "Hmmm?" she asked, realizing the man had said something.  
  
"You and Hitomi are in the same class," Kouji repeated. "She can help you around."  
  
Ranko turned off the TV, stretching. "I feel like exercising; can I borrow a gi?" Kouji nodded his response to her second question, then said, "It's just down that hall. Watch out, though. I think Megumi's in there now."  
  
Ranko grinned. "I don't mind"  
  
Megumi was indeed in there, and she didn't take kindly to the interruption. Her narrow hazel eyes became even slimmer when she realized that Ranko knew how to train. Megumi was used to being the top dog in the martial artist order of the family, and she didn't like competition. She watched Ranko's movements and became gradually unhappier as she mentally matched her abilities with the other girl's and discovered the results. |How can a brat with amnesia be so damned good?| she wondered irritably. |But I wonder how she'd fare against a real opponent.| The "real opponent" was, of course, Megumi herself.  
  
The red-haired girl knew the brunette was watching her, but studiously ignored her audience. She went through moves her body knew, even though her mind protested the knowledge. Remembering the exploding fence incident, she wondered, |How can an amnesiac like me be so damned good? But I've never actually fought a person before. I think.| No, she realized, there had been lots of people, many angry people, who tried to beat her up but couldn't. And then she realized another thing: during most of those cloudy memories, she had been a boy. In fact, she seemed to have spent a rather inordinate amount of time as a boy!  
  
By this time, Ranko had been practicing for twenty hard minutes and she hadn't broken a sweat. Megumi's jealousy began to fill the training room with palpable waves. Finally, when Ranko couldn't take it anymore, she whirled around and snapped, "What IS your problem?"  
  
Megumi was taken aback, but she quickly got over her shock. "What do you mean, what is my problem?" she demanded. "What's it to you?"  
  
"Because I can feel it," Ranko answered, "all around me!"  
  
"You're kidding," said Megumi. "You think you're hot just because you know martial arts? You think you're special just because you have amnesia? Well, I have news for you. You're not!"  
  
Surprisingly, the heat of Ranko's anger was forced under a shield of coolness, like ice. She found she was able to examine the situation without her annoyance getting in the way. And she came up with the perfect solution: "You think you're good? Try me out for size."  
  
Megumi stared at Ranko. The red-haired girl was almost a head shorter than she was, and of slighter build. Then she met Ranko's eyes and was briefly intimidated by the fire that flared within them. But her own competitiveness got the better of her, and she replied, "I'll do better than that. I'll wipe the floor with you!"  
  
The two squared off on opposite sides of the training hall. Megumi's face was hard, her eyes cold and calculating. For all her hot words, the girl was remarkably cool-headed in an actual fight. Ranko slipped into a fighting stance, hands held out and half-curled. She gave the brunette a measured glance, taking in Megumi's muscular physique, the coldness in which she eyed her opponent, and saw a very competitive female who was a definate candidate for the Anything-Goes School.  
  
|What school?| Ranko thought absently, then had no time to answer her own question.  
  
Megumi used an aerial attack first, swooping down with an outstretched fist, ready to pulp in Ranko's face. Ranko slipped to the side easily, but was caught by surprise when Megumi snapped her torso upright and gave Ranko a vicious kick to the right cheek. Cursing, Ranko threw herself into a roll and rose to meet the next attempt.  
  
She was only just quick enough to dodge the heel of Megumi's foot which would have connected with her chest. Spinning to the side, Ranko grabbed her opponent's shin and with practiced fingers found a pressure point. Megumi cried out, but then swept her own upper body around into a handstand, snapping her legs over and throwing Ranko away.  
  
Ranko landed in a crouch. |No more Ms. Nice Amnesiac,| she thought grimly, and attacked. Megumi backed away under a barrage of punches, barely blocking them, yet more than half got through her guard. Before long, Megumi's chest was bruised and the coolness in her gaze had given way to anger.  
  
"You're going down, runt," she snarled, backflipping away and landing on one knee. She her hands outstretched, forming a kind of jaw. "Hyah!" she cried as a wave of chi exploded from her hands and headed straight at Ranko. Ranko jumped diagonally and came at Megumi at a run. Megumi wasn't prepared for the savage stomach punch, nor the elbow to the neck that came next.  
  
"Hitomi was right," said Ranko to Megumi, who had collapsed painfully. "Even though she didn't say it, you needed to be taken down a notch. I'm going to bathe." She left the room, knowing Megumi would be all right, with only a bruised ego to show for the battle.  
  
The brunette lay facedown in the training hall, getting her wind back. |That. . .bitch!| she thought furiously, seeing red. |She thinks she can rule the roost just because she knows martial arts! And saying *I* needed to be taken down a notch. . .what about her?! I say she *never* should get her memories back. She should be shipped back to whatever hellhole she came out of, and good damn riddance!|  
  
Hitomi leaped at Ranko the minute the other girl emerged from the training hall. "So did you fight my sister? How did you do?" she babbled. She wouldn't shut up. She pestered Ranko no matter how hard the red-head tried to shake her off. Finally Ranko bellowed, "I beat Megumi! Are you happy now?!"  
  
Hitomi shut up at once, but it didn't last long. "You *did*?" she squealed. "You actually beat Megumi? I can't believe it. I can't wait to tell everyone at school tomorrow! They'll be so happy! They -" She fell silent all of a sudden. Ranko, wondering what happened, turned in time to catch a murderous glare from Megumi, who had emerged from the training hall as well.  
  
"You tell people, runt," she said dangerously, clearly speaking to Hitomi, "and I'll make you wish you'd never been born. I'm taking my bath now." Her tone indicated that it shouldn't be otherwise.  
  
Once the scary girl had left, Hitomi said in a subdued voice, "I guess we should bathe later."  
  
Ranko immediately became flustered. "Ahh, no!" she exclaimed. "I think - I think I would like to bathe alone. Forever. Please."  
  
She got a weird look in response. "You want to bathe alone? But, like, can't I wash your back or something?"  
  
"I manage fine on my own," said Ranko quickly. "But thank you."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The rest of the day and most of next morning was a nightmare. The universe seemed hell-bent on exposing Ranko's gender-bending secret at all times. During dinner, Sakura, the mother, tripped on nothing and the big pot of soup went flying straight at Ranko, who managed to save herself by catching the bowl with a nearby broom. Later, Hitomi dropped her teacup and it plummeted down to Ranko's head, who escaped by falling over and catching it with her feet. Then, Megumi almost barged in on Ranko as a guy, who doused himself with cold water just in time. During breakfast, Ranko slipped while carrying her teacup but was able to inhale the tea while it was still in the air, though it burned her throat. Finally she stumbled out of the dojo wearing the school uniform, accompanied by Hitomi. Megumi walked ahead, ignoring the youner girls.  
  
Ranko wondered if she dared hope the day would go better than the morning had, but it soon became apparent that the universe had other ideas.  
  
"Hitomi-chan, who is this lovely beauty?" demanded a tall, handsome, black- haired boy. [A/N: He happens to looks like Kuno. Thre's no escape!] He bent down close, allowing his minty-fresh breath to wreathe Ranko's head. "What's your name?" he asked, trying to sound gallant, but coming off instead as. . .  
  
. . .Lecherous. Ranko slapped him instinctively, the sight of him bringing back bad feelings. "Don't get near me," she snapped, sounding bitchier than she intended.  
  
"Ranko!" Hitomi made a strangled noise. The boy backed away, shock in his deep brown eyes -- and a handprint forming on his left cheek. "Don't slap him! He's Akira Sugoi!"  
  
The red-haired girl gave the "awesome" boy a disgusted look. "He brings back bad memories. You're not going to call me the pigtailed girl, are you?" she challenged Akira.  
  
He looked surprised. "Not if you tell me your name, oh beautiful one." His arms went out for a hug, but then found himself booted angrily over the rooftops.  
  
|I have the weirdest feeling of deja vu. . .| thought Ranko as she followed the mortified Hitomi into the school.  
  
Yet, to Ranko's mild puzzlement, the school day went perfectly fine. She was glad that, though she had amnesia, the school didn't seem to know. Though to her slight disappointment, she found that she was not that great in academic subjects. |I should just stick to martial arts and finding out my past,| she though moodily, gazing at the homework for the night. Stepping outside to wait for Hitomi -- who was attempting to apologize to Akira -- she discovered a group of girls with mops waiting for her. They all had rather nasty looks on their faces.  
  
"We hear your kicked Akira-sama over the rooftops," one of them snarled, shaking her mop in anger. "We can't allow that to happen to our Akira- sama."  
  
Ranko gave them all weary looks. "He deserved it."  
  
The spokeswoman pointed her mop threateningly at Ranko, who was unmoved. "You stupid amnesiac bitch, what makes you think you can just barge in and act like you own the place? We don't care how good a martial artist you are, we're gonna make you pay."  
  
The fight was quick and unfair. Despite the large number of mop-wielding, crazy-eyed girls, they had no fighting skills and were quickly subdued. For some reason, though, Ranko felt bad about beating up girls even though she was a girl too -- at the moment, that is. She was kicking the last one over onto the pile when Megumi appeared around the corner.  
  
The two girls traded glares. Ranko remembered how the first mop-girl had called her an amnesiac, and had a sinking feeling of where she had gotten that information. Megumi saw it in her eyes, though her only reply was a smirk to confirm Ranko's intuition. Then she was gone, as silently as she had come, and Hitomi was running up to Ranko, horror on her face at the sight of the  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The pig was lost.  
  
This wasn't an unusal thing, though, so he wasn't too worried. Or he wouldn't have been worried if he hadn't been securely strapped to his backpack, unable to move. His hooves clawed the air frantically, and he cursed all the people that came to mind who had connections to his predicament, not in the least one certain pigtailed boy.  
  
Not only had Ranma been at fault for making Ryoga become a pig in the first place, but he then had to run out and get engaged to Ryoga's secret crush, Akane. After that, he went and disappeared to a training ground rumored to have a cure for anything, up to and including hot springs curses. So he left with his old man in the middle of the night, not even thinking to take along his rival and fellow cursee Ryoga.  
  
Of course, Ryoga reflected, trying to chew the straps apart, they hadn't exactly been best friends over the long months. That could explain things.  
  
Now Akane and the others were off to search for Ranma, since Genma had arrived back at the dojo with amnesia. Luckily, that had been quickly cured by a douse of hot water. Ryoga wondered wistfully that if Ranma remained with amnesia, would he, Ryoga, be able to get Akane? Probably not, he realized, attacking the strap with renewed ferocity. |Damn it! Then they all left while I was still lost!|  
  
So here he was now, trying desperately to get back to the group and head to the Youkai Caves. He didn't even have a map, not that that would help him any. Unfortunately, the group had a day or two head start on him, and they actually knew where they were going. Ryoga was beginning to despair even getting out of his backpack -- why'd he have to tie the straps so tightly?! -- when the straps parted and he landed with a smack on his belly. Which hurt. A lot. He added some more profanity to the already long list against Ranma, then picked himself up and trotted off to get his bearings, and some hot water.  
  
Ah! There it was! The window to a house was open! Praying that no one would barge in on him, Ryoga manged to sneak inside. Oops, he'd have to borrow a robe. If anyone stole his backpack, they were dead meat! The pig balanced on the edge of the bath, then launched himself in, changing into a boy immediately.  
  
--------------------  
  
Hitomi was still shouting at Ranko when they walked into the dojo. Megumi was trailing a few yards away, that arrogant smirk still on her face. Ranko tried hard to ignore the older girl's ire, which was palpable even at twelve feet. Ranko knew that Megumi had tried to sic the Akira-fans on her, only to have the plan backfire. So now the poison in Megumi's demeanor was even more deadly.  
  
". . .And ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!" bellowed Hitomi as they removed their shoes at the entryway. She took a deep breath, then started to cry. "He finally says a few words to me -- me! -- and then you boot him into the air. I don't believe you!"  
  
Megumi turned her attention to her favorite pastime: mocking her little sister. "Shut up, Hitomi," she told the younger girl bluntly. " 'Oh, he finally said a few words to me!' " she squealed, in a cruel but accurate imitation of Hitomi's reaction. "Grow up, you stupid girl. He only talked to you to get at Ranko."  
  
Though Ranko was privately in agreement with Megumi, she nevertheless felt like taking Hitomi's side against her older sister. The redhead could tell that this family feud had been going on for a long time, and nothing anyone would say would make Megumi think any differently. "Cheer up," she told the blonde, trying to comfort her. "I'm sure he, uh, thinks you're cool deep down inside."  
  
Even to Ranko, who had no knowledge of Hitomi and her crush on Akira, it sounded lame.  
  
Ryoga realized with a sinking heart that this house was now occupied, and it had three girls in it. Sisters. Hm, that sounded a lot like a dojo he knew of, but he knew this wasn't Nerima. Where it was, he couldn't say, but. . .Poking his head around a corner, he saw that they were all in the entryway. Damn, now he couldn't sneak out! Ryoga was about to curse Ranma again for the sake of their rivalry, when one of the girls caught his eye.  
  
Red-haired girl, with a pigtail. She was wearing a sailor uniform, but that didn't hide her exquisite figure. The way she moved and the way she was talking to the tall brunette was very familiar.  
  
"Ranma?" he asked, louder than he had intended.  
  
All three girls whirled. The Ranma look-alike held out her hands in an attack posture, while the brunette crouched, murder in her eyes. Ranma -- if it was Ranma -- showed no recognition at the sight of Ryoga. That was unusual. Usually he would be planting his foot in Ryoga's face or something, not standing, *looking* like he wanted to kick Ryoga.  
  
"Ranma?" he repeated, pointing at the pigtailed girl.  
  
She pointed at herself, the battle aura fading slightly. Puzzlement replaced the frown, which wasn't any more helpful to Ryoga. "I'm Ranko," she explained. "Who are you looking for?"  
  
The voice! It *was* Ranma! Ryoga was very annoyed to realize that Akane had left on a big journey, and here was Ranma! Of course, Ryoga didn't know how far "here" was in relation to Nerima. "What are you doing here?" he snapped. "Why aren't you at that training ground, or wherever?"  
  
The girl gave him a long look, like she thought he was deaf. "I. . .am. . .Ranko," she repeated slowly, pointing to herself. "Not Ranma. Ranko."  
  
|Does Ranma have a twin sister for real?| Ryoga wondered, and then the other girl, the vicious-looking one, spoke.  
  
"What the hell are you doing in our house?" she asked.  
  
"Oh. That. . .can be explained," muttered Ryoga. "Sometime. Um, I'm lost. Could I stay at your house?" he pleaded.  
  
The short blonde chipped in, "Sure! I'm sure our parents will think it's okay if you stay for a while." She cast a nervous glance at the brunette, who shrugged and stalked away.  
  
Ranko was staring in fascination at Ryoga, who was starting to become uncomfortable. "What are you looking at?" he demanded, drawing the robe closer around him.  
  
She shook her head, as if to clear her mind, then gave him an odd smile. "Oh nothing. I just thought you looked familiar, but I guess not." Then, as she walked away, Ryoga was not able to catch her murmured, "P-Chan?"  
  
He sighed and went out to collect his things from the street, glad he had time to solve the mystery. 


End file.
